Nerds in the Nevernever
by Sonata16
Summary: What happens when a group of humans manage to find their way into Faery, unsupervised? Well...nothing good; that's for certain. (This was a fan fic I started at the request of a group of friends who share a love of The Iron Fey with me. Names given to characters are based on their nicknames among the group. Note: Does not follow original story timeline.)
1. Chapter 1

"Remind me what part of this was a good idea, again?" Jester sighed, rubbing her temples slowly, reclined against a tree and staring at the sky.  
"All of it," said Iron decisively, earning her a disgruntled look from Jester. "Oh, c'mon, Jester. Don't be like that."  
"I'll be how I want, thanks," muttered Jester, cinching her eyes shut and slumping further down against the trunk of the tree. "And right now I'll be irritated. We're lost. I'm hungry. We almost got ourselves killed by a...whatever the hell that thing was...and did I mention we're lost?"  
"We're not lost," denied Iron, to which Knavish raised an eyebrow, "We're just...not found."  
"Lost," said Knavish, clicking his tongue.  
"Not lost," snapped Iron, jabbing a finger at him. "We're not lost until I say we are."  
"Democracy rules here, Iron, and four out of five of us have agreed we're lost," Puckie informed her with a roll of her eyes.  
"But I am the Overlord, so this is not a democracy," said Iron, hands on hips, "It's a dictatorship."  
"Someone make her stop," pleaded Jester, jamming her knuckles against her forehead and cringing. "I'm getting a headache. And I'm freaking hungry..."  
"Can't we eat something around here?" asked Puckie, frowning.  
"Nothing I trust," sighed Imagine, sitting cross legged by the fire, poking at the logs to get the flames going. "Unless you want to try some of the berries, but I couldn't tell you which ones are poisonous or not, and I don't even know if they're really the same as anything back in our world."  
"Fair point," sighed Puckie, looking put out as she came over to sit next to Imagine. "So, what do we do?"  
"The only thing we can do," Iron murmured seriously.  
"Please don't say 'eat each other'," Knavish muttered under his breath.  
"We'll have to eat other!"  
Knavish exchanged a weary look with Imagine, and shrugged. "Called it," he said, smirking.  
"You did," she agreed, also smirking and going back to stoking the fire. "I volunteer Iron as tribute."  
"Same," agreed Knavish and Jester. Puckie bit her lip and didn't say anything.  
"Mutiny!" gasped Iron, looking outraged. "You wouldn't eat me, your Overlord, would you?"  
"Depends on how hungry I am and how loud you are," Jester replied dully, lifting an eyebrow at her. "And I'm pretty damn hungry and you're pretty damn loud."  
Iron scowled, then turned up her nose and sniffed. "Well, then," she muttered. "I see how it is."  
"Good, now get in the fire and roast," Knavish snorted.  
"Wow, Knavish," said Imagine slowly, raising both eyebrows.  
He grinned and shrugged. "It's not like she listens to me anyway."  
"Heckle no I don't!" snapped Iron, glaring at him. "And I am not getting into that fire. Do you know how hot it's got to be?!"  
"Hella?" volunteered Puckie.  
"Extremely hella," agreed Iron, nodding. "You get in it, Knavish."  
"No thanks," he yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm already warm."  
Iron looked about ready to say something snarky when a loud crackling off to her left made her freeze, and the others also went very still and quiet as they swiveled their heads around, ears perked.  
"What was that?" Puckie was whispered, eyes wide with fear.  
Knavish only shook his head and glanced at Imagine, who also shook her head as she slowly got to her feet, trying to see into the bushes. The shadows made it very hard to see, and she squinted, trying to get a glimpse of anything at all to indicate what could have made the noise. It had sounded very large, and that wasn't good.  
She saw something glinting just behind one of the trees a few yards away, and strained her eyes to try and see what it was. It was a few feet off the ground, at least at waist height. She blinked. It blinked back.  
"Oh, damn," she whispered.  
"What?" Knavish hissed.  
"I don't know, but it's big and it's only thirty feet away," she muttered, dropping back by the fire in a crouch.  
Iron paled visibly and began inching towards the fire. Jester shrunk back against her tree, wide eyed, and Puckie gripped at Imagine's sleeve, looking extremely frightened. There was more crackling and crunching as the thing moved closer, and Puckie whimpered. Knavish went into a crouch and began moving over to the fire as well while Iron took shelter behind Imagine, and Jester skittered over to the join them.  
"Yes, let's do make one huge target, guys," Imagine muttered in exasperation.  
"I'm not moving," Iron said decisively, shaking her head, eyes round.  
Jester hesitated, then shifted a few feet over to crouch by the base of a tree. Puckie gulped and followed Knavish a little ways away to a cluster of bushes on the edge of the clearing. Imagine gave Iron a look, then shoved her towards another set of bushes a little bit behind them. Iron looked reluctant, but as the crackling got closer she made up her mind and quickly dove for cover. Imagine snatched up her bag and began backtracking to another tree, keeping her eyes on the spot where she could hear the thing moving nearer.  
As she got within range of diving behind the tree, the bushes trembled and rustled, then parted as a very large animal stalked through them, its head low to the ground, its yellow eyes fixed on her. She felt her stomach drop as a wolf shouldered its way into view, easily as tall as she was, and at least three times as broad across. Its paws had to be as large as her entire head, and its jaws looked like they could easily take up the length of her forearm.  
"Oh, fuck," she heard someone mutter behind her, but couldn't figure out who it was as she kept her eyes trained on the beast.  
She tried to keep herself from hyperventilating, or crying, and very much wanted to do both, but didn't as she fished around in her bag until she found what she was looking for. A metal camping mug. She threw it, hard, just a little to the left of the wolf, and waited as it pinged off the base of a tree and rattled across the ground. The wolf didn't so much as flinch.  
"Well, shit," she muttered, continuing to back up as it advanced.  
The wolf kept coming, not making a sound, except for the sound of its paws crushing foliage, and it didn't blink. Its head stayed low to the ground, its enormous shoulders rippling with every movement. She waited as it came near the fire, expecting it to either walk around or even straight through the flames to approach, but was startled when it came to a steady halt just before the dug out pit, and lifted its head slowly, nostrils flaring, eyes narrowed.  
She stared at it, totally bewildered.  
"Run," hissed Jester from her right, but she had the feeling that was not a good idea.  
She didn't know about fey wolves, but she figured they had the same kind of instinct as regular wolves in that if their prey ran, they would chase it, so she stayed very still. Waiting to see what would happen next. She only hoped it wouldn't suddenly launch itself over the fire at her...because she was screwed if it did.  
The wolf merely watched her, unblinking, and gave a quiet snort. She blinked at it, confused.  
The canine eyed her a second longer, then abruptly tipped back its head, sucked in a breath, and howled.  
The sound made Imagine's stomach drop, and she almost tripped backtracking fast.  
"Crap, crap, crap," she whispered as she stumbled behind the spot where Knavish and Puckie were crouched. "Crap, we've got to move."  
"What?" Puckie looked about ready to pass out, and Knavish gave her a stunned look.  
"What do wolves do when they've found what they're hunting?" Imagine asked as she grabbed them both by the hands and tugged. "They howl. It's calling whatever the hell is with it to come over, and if we don't get gone, this is going to seriously suck for all of us."  
That got them moving, and Imagine gestured for Jester to follow as they bolted into the bushes, nearly tripping over a frightened Iron in the process. With Knavish leading the group, the five of them raced through the undergrowth, Imagine staying at the back and keeping an eye behind them to see if the wolf would follow. At first she didn't hear anything, but a few seconds after they started running she heard something large chasing them through the undergrowth and caught a glimpse of dark gray fur and yellow eyes.  
"Faster, guys, faster," she hissed, heart in her throat.  
"Trying," Jester panted back, arms pumping as she sprinted after Puckie and the others. "It's coming, isn't it?"  
"Uh-huh."  
"Fuck."  
"Yeah. Move faster."  
They took random turns as often as they could, running for their lives, and even as they ran, Imagine had an ominous sense that they weren't so much running away as the Wolf was just keeping pace with them, not catching up or falling behind, but staying the same distance, just enough where she could see it every few seconds. It wasn't chasing to kill them. It was chasing to keep track of them. Every few yards, she heard it howl again, and knew it was calling whoever or whatever had sent it after them in the first place.  
The longer they ran, the more she could feel herself tiring out. She could feel a stitch developing in her side, and her lungs burned, and she mentally cursed for not taking a running course when she had the chance. The others were also wearing out. Puckie was wheezing, and Knavish was sweating. Iron had taken the lead, but she didn't seem to be in much better shape, as she kept stumbling every few feet, and Jester had a hand at her chest, gasping.  
Abruptly, a loud whistling cut through the air, and Imagine hesitated, her pace slowing. Something whizzed by her ear, making her recoil, and nailed Jester in the shoulder, sending the girl tumbling forward to the ground hard. She cussed as she hit, and rolled over a few times before coming to a stop face down, trembling and holding her arm.  
"Jester!" Puckie squeaked, skidding to a halt.  
Knavish doubled back as Iron stopped, and Imagine crouched down beside Jester.  
"What hit me?" Jester rasped.  
"I don't know," admitted Imagine, looking her over. "There's no blood. Does it feel broken?"  
"No, but my ankle is fucked up," Jester ground out.  
Knavish looked down and swore under his breath.  
Jester's left ankle was very obviously broken, stuck out at an odd angle, the toe of her shoe was still caught between a pair of interlocked roots that she'd hit as she fell.  
"Crap," muttered Imagine, looking up as she heard the pounding steps of the wolf coming up on them fast. "Knavish, help me."  
Together, they slid an arm each under Jester's arms and helped her up, supporting her weight as she gingerly lifted herself onto one foot, holding the other slightly elevated and spitting curse words through her gritted teeth.  
"We're not getting anywhere like this," Knavish muttered.  
"Just put me down and go for it," Jester told them.  
"How about no?" suggested Imagine, already walking forward, helping Jester limp along.  
She knew it was stupid. Knew there was no way they were getting anywhere with Jester injured, but she sure as hell wasn't just leaving the girl behind. They needed to find a place to hide. Or at least to hide Jester while someone else got the wolf off the track.  
She looked around anxiously. "Puckie, Iron, see if you can find a place to hide everyone."  
Puckie nodded, and she and Iron hurried ahead, peering around for a good spot.  
"It's coming," Knavish said, glancing over his shoulder as the sounds of the wolf got even closer. "Son of a bitch...it's WALKING."  
Imagine winced. Adding insult to injury. The wolf wasn't even making an effort to catch up with them, even though it could.  
And as if that weren't bad enough, she could hear something else over Jester's labored breathing and her own rapid heartbeat. It sounded almost like thunder, but she could feel the ground trembling and a split second before it got louder she knew what it was. A horse.  
"Damn it," she muttered, looking desperately around for Puckie and Iron, who had vanished from sight.  
"You hear that?" Knavish asked, glancing anxiously at her.  
"Yeah, I do, and that's not good."  
"Over here!" Puckie called from just ahead, and she looked up to see the girl waving desperately at her from behind an enormous tree.  
Quickly, Knavish and Imagine helped Jester hobble over to where Puckie and Iron were waiting, and Imagine looked down as Iron pointed to see a complicated network of thick roots branching over a tunnel.  
"I don't know if I trust that," Knavish said, eyeing the opening with obvious reluctance.  
"You got a better idea?" asked Iron, glaring.  
Knavish shot her a look, but didn't argue, and started to lower Jester towards the opening, feet first.  
"I swear to God, if something is waiting at the bottom to eat me, I'm coming back to haunt all of your asses," Jester warned them, wincing as she shifted herself to the edge of the tunnel, sitting on the edge.  
"Go," Knavish said, nudging her, seeing the shape of the wolf coming closer.  
Jester made a face, then let herself drop through the opening.  
They all waited anxiously as they heard her sliding, then curse as she hit the bottom.  
"It's safe!" she called up in a strained voice, "But that hurt like hell! And whoever comes next needs to watch out, because there isn't enough room for me to move in here!"  
"How many can fit?" Iron called down.  
"I don't know," admitted Jester. "Maybe all of us? Someone might have to lay in the tunnel!"  
"Better than nothing," muttered Knavish, and motioned for Puckie to go next. "I'll lay in the tunnel."  
"You do that," muttered Imagine, not quite paying attention. Her gaze was focused on the approaching wolf.  
Knavish glanced at her, and frowned. "What are you thinking?"  
"Nothing good, get inside," she told him, shoving her bag into his hands.  
"Uh-uh," Iron said, seeing what she planned on doing and grabbing her arm. "Don't even think about it, Imagine."  
"It's going to find us anyway," Imagine pointed out her heartbeat speeding up as she heard the sound of hoofbeats getting closer.  
"Take your damn bag, I'll take it," Knavish said, shoving her bag back at her, but she didn't take it. "Imagine!"  
"Remember that Skype conversation we had where we agreed if I got lost or killed or something stupid you were in charge?" Imagine asked him, glaring.  
He hesitated, then cussed. "Fine. Just...fine. Okay, but you better not get killed or lost or something stupid."  
"No promises," she said, then pushed Iron towards the opening.  
"You're both stupid," the girl told them with a huff, even as she slid her legs into the opening.  
"Yeah, yeah, get sliding," Knavish advised her, to which she grimaced before vanishing from sight.  
Knavish tossed the bag in after her, then glanced at Imagine.  
"You sure about this?" he asked, frowning.  
"No, not really," she admitted in a shaky voice, feeling her hands shaking. "Get in the hole."  
He smirked, then dropped himself onto the edge.  
"If you die, I'm going to be pissed," he told her.  
"You and everyone else," she said with a grin. "I swear, it's like you guys like me or something."  
"Something like that, yeah," he said, shrugging, then reluctantly dropped out of sight.  
Imagine hesitated, then bent to scoop leaves and whatever else within reach over the opening before straightening up. The moment she dead, she caught sight of the wolf coming through the trees, and felt her stomach bottom out. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all...  
She told herself to run, and managed to take a half step back before her body gave out on her and she just froze, staring into the wolf's face as it loomed over her, looking even bigger than it had previously. It came within just feet of her, and she actually nearly lost her footing as her legs went weak.  
"Crap," she mumbled, feeling behind her for support.  
The wolf eyed her for a second, then tilted its head back. She managed to cover her ears just in time before it let out the same eerie howl as before. She sucked in a deep breath, feeling her entire body shaking, and as she lowered her hands from her ears she could hear, as well as feel, the pounding of the hoofbeats in the ground under her feet, and just about fell down as she caught a flash of black speeding through the trees towards her, obviously following the wolf's calls.  
"Crap," she mumbled again, leaning back against a tree and contemplating if she could still make a run for it.  
The wolf rumbled a growl at her, and she thought better of it. Sure, she could run for it, but she wouldn't be getting far. She could only hope it didn't stick around after whatever was behind it caught up and got a hold of her. She didn't need them finding the others.  
Her heart suddenly went to her throat as two horses came into view, racing each other towards her, each bearing a rider. Now her legs did cave under her, and she slumped down on the ground, shaking all over and fighting the urge to cry.  
The two horses burst into full view, rearing and blowing air from their nostrils, their flanks heaving. The one nearest to her danced sideways, coming close to the wolf, who only flicked an ear back towards the other animal as the rider flicked a glance over at Imagine from behind a silver helm. She registered the rider's eyes were a piercing green, and had a very uncomfortable suspicion of who was at the reigns. The second rider yanked on his horse's reigns, keeping it in place, and gave a dark laugh.  
"Wow, it really is a human," he commented, his blue eyes dancing with mirth, and even without being able to see his whole face, Imagine knew he was leering.  
The wolf turned its head away from her and gave a low bark at the first rider, eyes narrowed.  
"There's more than this one," the rider murmured, beginning to look around.  
"More?" The second rider was clearly excited. "How many more?"  
"No idea," admitted the first rider, shrugging. "Let's just deal with this one first."  
He started to dismount, but the second rider beat him down, already drawing his sword as he stepped away from his horse. Imagine's eyes grew very wide, and she choked on a scream as he leveled the sword at her.  
"Put that away, Rowan," the first rider sighed, stepping forward to knock the weapon away. "We're not killing her."  
"Yet," sneered the second rider.  
The first rider spared a glance for Imagine. "Yet," he agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

If there had ever been a time she wanted to faint more in her life, it would have been then, and Imagine wasn't one to faint. God, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd blacked out. Maybe when she was five...?  
She swallowed the lump in throat, staring up at the two riders as they stood over, now extremely frightened, especially as she tried to keep a wary eye on Rowan. This was exactly what she'd been afraid of, and now she was even more desperate to get out of the area, just because if the Wolf knew the others were nearby, she had no doubt he'd lead Rowan straight to them...  
Testing her strength, she got her feet under her and very carefully started to inch herself up, moving slowly to avoid the two fey and the Wolf from noticing. Of course, the moment she so much as flinched, Rowan's blue eyes fixed back on her, and she could almost feel him sneering as he peered down at her from behind his helm.  
"So," he purred, and she shivered at the malevolence practically dripping from that single word, "Where are your friends? Shouldn't you introduce us?"  
She bit down so hard on her tongue she was afraid of biting it open, and forced herself to stay quiet, and not to glance towards the base of the other tree where the piles of twigs and leave covered the opening. She only hoped none of the others would make a sound that would get them noticed, and maybe, just maybe, the Wolf would pass them over.  
"No?" Rowan crooned, casually twirling his blade between his fingers. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"  
She stayed silent.  
"She's no fun," sighed Rowan, turning his head towards the first rider, who Imagine could only now assume was his brother and the Crown Prince Sage.  
And was proven right when the rider heaved a sigh and reached up to remove his helmet, revealing his face. His black hair spilled down his back, and into his face, and he paused to push it aside before leveling a steady gaze at her.  
"Threatening her wasn't exactly the best way to get information, Rowan," he murmured, shooting a look at his younger sibling, who smirked and shrugged.  
"It usually works fairly well," he drawled, still twirling his weapon. "Especially on humans."  
Sage heaved another sigh and turned to Imagine. "Where are the others?" he asked quietly.  
Imagine sat motionless for a minute, then slowly summoned up the strength to shake her head left and right once.  
"No?" Sage's eyebrows shot up. "You know we will find them regardless."  
Imagine stayed quiet. What else could she say? Other than something that would probably get her killed.  
Sage merely rolled his shoulders when she didn't say anything else and glanced at his Wolf, who rumbled a quiet growl and turned away to begin sniffing at the ground.  
Imagine's heart was immediately in her throat as she watched the animal slink away, closer to the tree where the others were hidden beneath the roots. She glanced up at Sage and Rowan. Sage was keeping an eye on his wolf, and Rowan had turned away to tie his horse up nearby. Neither of them were watching her.  
She didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a shot, if she could actually get up, that was... Very carefully, she slid her feet under her, testing her strength, and when she didn't feel any trembling, she sucked in a breath, sent up a prayer, and took off running.  
"Hey!"  
She heard Rowan shout behind her, but didn't stop.  
She heard Sage snap something, and immediately felt the ground shake as something gave chase. Taking a split second behind her, it was to see the Wolf speeding after her, paws eating up the ground. She just about dropped to the ground seeing it coming at her, but...well, this was what she'd been hoping for, right?  
She kept running, lungs burning, knowing there was no way she was going to outrun the thing, but going on anyway. Until she felt hot breath on the back of her neck, and something slammed her hard from behind, taking her to the ground. Fur pressed into her face as she landed on her back, breath bursting out of her lungs, her eyes watering as rocks scraped across her arms and legs, and roots jammed up into her back. Yellow eyes stared down at her, and a low growl issued as the wolf crouched over her, baring long teeth.  
She laid underneath it, breathing hard, and listened to the sound of footsteps coming nearer, until a shadow crossed her vision, and she looked up to see Sage and Rowan standing over her. Rowan was smirking, looking extremely triumphant. Sage merely looked bored.  
"Did you really think you were going anywhere?" Rowan taunted.  
She bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something smart, because in spite of the pain and the fear, she found herself getting more and more irritated the more he talked. She'd thought the books had done a fair job of depicting his arrogance and smart assery, but apparently not. He outdid himself.  
"Get up," Sage ordered, waving the Wolf off of her.  
The animal retreated, keeping a watchful eye on her, but she continued to lay on the ground, taking deep breaths.  
Sage cocked an eyebrow. "That wasn't a suggestion. Unless you'd like to die on the ground."  
She couldn't help it, she rolled her eyes.  
Rowan gave a sound of amusement. "I don't think she believes you, brother."  
"On the ground or anywhere else, does it matter?" she rasped, wincing as her throat burned just from speaking.  
Sage eyed her for a moment, then bent and seized her firmly by the upper arm, surprising her with his strength by dragging her upright with very little effort. She stumbled a little, head spinning, and nearly fell over again, but with the Prince's hand firmly gripping her arm, she stayed on her feet.  
"Are you going to run again?" he asked when she'd shaken her head clear.  
"Maybe," she said, flicking a look at him.  
He blinked, and for a split second she thought his lips twitched in a smile, but his eyes never changed, and she wasn't sure.  
"Where are the others?" he repeated his earlier question.  
"I'm not telling you," she wheezed.  
"Where have I heard that before?" chortled Rowan, giving her a very deliberate once over, his hand palming the hilt of his sword, which he'd put back in its sheath.  
Sage gave his brother a sidelong look, clearly exasperated, then turned his attention back to Imagine, who didn't even try to get him to let go. She merely stood there, looking up at him, not so much scared anymore as tired, and hurting all over.  
"Where are the other humans?" he asked for the third time.  
"I'm not telling you," she said again, closing her eyes and trying not to let the swaying of the ground under her feet make her nauseous.  
He tightened his fingers on her arm a fraction and she sucked in a breath as she felt a shooting pain. His palm was intensely cold, and her skin was slowly starting to go numb, though that could also have been because he was cutting off her circulation.  
"Where are the other humans?" he repeated calmly.  
"I'm not telling you," she said very slowly, and squeaked in pain as he tightened his fingers again.  
"We can continue to do this until your arm breaks," he told her in a low voice, "I'm patient."  
"I'm not," said Rowan coldly, and Imagine opened her eyes to see the younger Prince taking a step closer, hand on the hilt of his sword.  
Sage inserted himself between them, effectively blocking his brother.  
"How about you make yourself useful by looking for them?" he suggested, throwing a glance over his shoulder as Rowan glared at him. "They can't have gone very far."  
The younger prince gave him a very ugly look, then turned on his heel and marched off, starting towards his horse.  
Imagine watched him go, feeling a prickle of unease as he passed very close to the tree where the others were hiding, and waited, holding her breath, as he mounted his horse and turned it around. As he trotted up to them, he put his helmet back on, and shot her a look that made her skin crawl.  
"Don't rough her up too badly, Sage," he told his brother, "It's only fair we both get a turn with her."  
Sage didn't respond, and Rowan kicked his horse's sides, spurring it forward until he rode off in the direction she had been running. Only when he was out of sight did she let her breath out, only to suck it in again as Sage's fingers dug into her arms, and a biting cold seeped into her arm. She reached up automatically with a whimper, tugging at his hand.  
"Where are they?" he inquired, not even remotely bothered by her struggles.  
"I'm not telling you," she said, eyes watering.  
He exhaled slowly, then redoubled his grip to the point she cried out in pain.  
"Stop it...!"  
He was unmoved. "Where are they?"  
"I said I'm not telling you!"  
Sage gave her a slow once over, then sighed and squeezed her arm so hard her vision went momentarily black. Her entire arm throbbed, and she could practically feel her bones creaking under the pressure. She drew in shaky breaths, trying not to panic or cry, but her eyes were already welling with tears and her legs were shaking again.  
"I already told you we can continue this until your arm breaks," he murmured. "The choice is up to you."  
She mouthed wordlessly for a moment, not able to form coherent words as he dug his fingers in harder, and the cold in her arm became too painful to ignore. After a few tries of just opening and closing her mouth, she just shook her head.  
"You're resilient, I will give you that," he sighed.  
Another contraction of his fingers had her knees giving way, and then she was only being held up by his hand around her arm, half dangling in his grip, which only put strain on her already throbbing arm so she whimpered.  
"Let's try another question," he decided. "How did you get here?"  
She took in a deep breath, her vision blurring with tears. "Don't know..."  
"How many are with you?"  
"Not telling you..."  
"Do you really think that will help them?"  
"Yes..."  
"That's a very childish way of thinking," he murmured, narrowing his eyes at her.  
"You're not looking for them," she retorted, then squeaked in pain as he squeezed her arm so hard her fingers tingled and then lost feeling. "Let go...!"  
"Where are they?"  
She shook her head.  
"This isn't even the worst that can be done to you, I hope you understand," Sage told her coolly. "It barely requires effort on my part to do this, and you're on the verge of fainting. What does that tell you?"  
She didn't answer him.  
And he didn't get the chance to ask any more questions as Rowan reappeared, riding through the trees.  
"No sign of them," he informed Sage as he came up level with them.  
Sage narrowed his eyes, and glanced over at the Wolf, who had been sitting motionless for the entire time. Their eyes met, and the Wolf gave a low rumble, its gaze sliding sideways.  
Imagine followed its look and felt her stomach twist into knots to see it looking directly towards the base of the tree where Iron, Knavish, Puckie, and Jester were hidden under the roots. It knew...  
Sage also saw where the Wolf was looking, and glanced at her to gauge her reaction. When he saw her white face, and the way she looked up briefly at him before looking down, he sighed and dragged her over towards the tree. She struggled to walk, the pain in her arm making her nauseous, and stumbled along until her back abruptly hit the solid trunk of the tree, sending a jolt of pain up her spine so she winced.  
"One last time," the Prince said, his green eyes piercing into her, "Where are they?"  
She looked up at him, her breathing shaky and strained. Behind him, the Wolf stood close by, its amber eyes peering back at her, and Rowan smirked at her from the back of his horse.  
She took a slow breath, and shook her head.  
Sage looked at her for a long moment, then exhaled and closed his eyes.  
"Very well."  
There was a sudden, blinding pain that completely robbed her off breath, and she heard a sound like a pencil snapping, followed by her own scream as she dropped to the ground, her entire arm going immediately numb. It didn't last, though, and she'd barely caught her breath before the next wave hit her as she slumped sideways into the ground, her mind reeling.  
She dragged ragged breaths into her lungs, trying not to black out, her entire body trembling from head to toe. She was in shock. He'd actually broken her arm. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she hadn't really thought he would... Her breaths turned quickly to sobs as pain overwhelmed her, and tears streaked down her face as she curled up on the ground.  
"Oooh," Rowan was snickering, "Did you lose your patience, Sage?"  
Sage didn't respond, standing impassively to the side, watching the girl on the ground, at the same time waiting for someone else to appear. He knew where the other humans were, but he also knew he would have a hell of a time retrieving them from under the tree. His best chance was to see if they were bold enough to show themselves, knowing their friend was in trouble. He thought he heard a scuffling sound, almost like rodents, coming from under a pile of foliage at the base of the tree, but then it went silent, and he frowned, eyes narrowing.  
He waited, listening. There was more scuffling, louder this time, then quiet again.  
"You can come out now," he said coolly, speaking loudly enough that he knew they heard him, "Or I can kill her first. Whichever you prefer."  
There was silence.  
Then the unmistakable sound of movement from underground. He glanced behind him at Rowan, who raised both eyebrows as the leaves and grass covering the base of the tree shifted, and then were shoved aside, and a face appeared, looking both terrified and defiant. Another female.  
Slowly, she drew herself out of the hole, and knelt on the ground, her expression twisted with pain, facing Sage.  
"Alright, I'm out," the girl snapped at him.  
Sage glanced at her, taking note of her oddly positioned ankle, then down at the hole behind her, but no one else appeared. He glanced back at the Wolf, who gave another rumble.  
"Where are the others?" he inquired coolly.  
"What others?" Jester glared at the Prince, trying to keep her lower lip from trembling.  
Sage narrowed his eyes. "There are more of you," he stated calmly, "Do not try and lie to me."  
"There are others," Jester agreed, "Just not here. It's just me and her here. We sent the others away. She stayed because I couldn't get away."  
"Where?" Sage inquired, raising an eyebrow.  
Jester glanced over at Imagine, who hadn't moved from her spot on the ground. She swallowed, then looked Sage directly in the eyes.  
"I'm not telling you."  
Rowan snorted in amusement. "These humans," he chuckled, "They act so heroic. I think I get to make this one talk, brother."  
Sage rolled his shoulders and stepped away. He knew the girl was lying, but he figured he wouldn't be getting an answer out of her. He really hadn't gotten an answer out of the first girl, to be honest. He'd give the humans credit for one thing, they were stubborn. This bunch seemed unusually so.  
Rowan had hopped down from his horse and was approaching Jester, already drawing his sword, his smirk very much in evidence, and Jester couldn't help the prickle of fear that went down his spine. She honestly didn't know what she'd been expecting when she came out of the hole, but now that she was out, she was starting to think maybe she should have just listened to Knavish and stayed put...or at least thought out a better plan. Because right now, she was fairly certain Rowan was about to gut her, and she knew Sage wasn't going to be stepping in to stop his brother, not like in their imagines or their fan fictions. This wasn't their make believe world. This was how it really was.  
"You can always call the others out," Rowan offered with a lazy smirk as he approached. "They might take your orders better than your screaming, but it's up to you."  
Well, at least the Prince's melodramatic attitude was on point, thought Jester, trying not to show any fear, even when everything in her either wanted to throw a punch or take off sprinting, though neither was really an option in her position.  
"Don't touch the girl, Rowan," Sage said abruptly, causing the others to stop and look around at him, stunned.  
"Excuse me?" Rowan asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
Sage tilted his chin at Imagine, who was still on the ground, shivering and crying.  
"She's more likely to cooperate if you use her," the elder Prince said. "She only came out because the other one was in distress."  
Rowan glanced down at Imagine, his expression thoughtful, and Jester felt her throat go dry.  
"Leave her the fuck alone," she ground out through clenched teeth.  
Rowan's smirk became malevolent and he sauntered closer to Imagine, the edge of his blade gleaming.  
"Hey!" Jester tried to get up, but her ankle gave out with a shock of pain and she crumpled, hitting the ground with a curse.  
"I'll give you credit for this one, Sage," Rowan said, throwing a leer back at Jester as he stood over Imagine, "You actually had a good idea for once."  
Sage merely rolled his eyes and leaned back against the tree, watching.  
"Look," Jester said desperately, heart racing, "They're not here! We sent them off and I don't know where they ended up, okay?"  
"I hate liars," sighed Rowan, tapping the very tip of his blade lightly against Imagine's shoulder.  
Jester saw tiny red lines appear on the girl's skin and felt bile rise in her throat.  
"I'm not fucking lying, alright?" she snapped. "They're not here!"  
Sage narrowed his eyes at her, then glanced at the Wolf, who huffed quietly.  
The others were certainly here, but this girl seemed to have no problem lying about it. She was actually quite convincing, and Sage had to give her a little admiration for her resilience. This group of humans was extremely odd. He'd never quite seen an odd collection before. They were all young, he knew that much, but they had a very powerful group mentality.  
Humans were individual thinkers by nature. Their entire instinct dictated they fight for themselves, unless it benefited them to work as a unit. There was no benefit in working as a unit here, but they did it anyway. Very unusual.  
Sighing, he glanced at Rowan.  
"Let's take these two," he murmured, earning him a look from Rowan.  
"And do what with them?" asked Rowan with a grimace. "Take them back to Mab? She'll kill them on sight and we won't find the others."  
"The others are as good as dead if they're wandering around on their own," Sage said coolly, already stepping towards Imagine. He caught a glimpse of the sweeping relief on Jester's face as he stooped to lift Imagine easily in one arm.  
The movement jarred the girl's shattered arm, however, and she squirmed and cried out.  
"You're hurting her!" Jester protested, glaring at him.  
"Consider it lucky she's still alive," Rowan said, coming towards her and bending to seize her by the arm, dragging her upright, uncaring of her broken ankle. "Both of you, for that matter. You'll be even luckier if Mab doesn't kill you personally. You may have noticed, but your kind aren't very welcome here."  
"Yeah, well fuck you," Jester spat in his face, which earned her a very dark smile.  
"Be careful what you wish for," he purred, dragging her over to his horse. "You may just get it."  
"Not on your life," she hissed, and he chuckled.  
She felt his hand on the back of her neck, and went rigid a split second before he jammed a finger into her skin, and her vision went immediately black.  
Rowan sighed as the girl dropped like a fly, and he easily slung her across the back of his horse, turning to watch Sage do the same with the other female.  
"So, what about the other humans?" he asked as his brother mounted his horse.  
"Not my problem," was the response he got, and he frowned.  
Shrugging, knowing there would be no point arguing, he also heaved himself up into the saddle and glanced back with a smirk at the unconscious human.  
"I wonder if Mab will actually kill them or just keep them for fun," he mused as he urged his horse forward.  
"That is up to her Majesty," Sage replied. "We can only report back to her with what we have and what we know."  
They set off back the way they'd come, the Wolf trailing silently behind them, only casting a final look towards the base of the tree before following.  
Once it was completely silent, and the only sounds left were the ones of the wyldwood's regular inhabitants did anything stir, and after a few moments a head appeared at the base of the tree as Knavish peered out, his face white and his mind reeling. He looked around, but there was no one in sight. Jester and Imagine were gone. He heaved himself out of the hole, his arms feeling more like rubber than anything, and the minute he was clear of the roots he slumped on the ground and just sat there, numb with shock. A few seconds later, Puckie appeared, equally white and terrified, and Iron followed, her eyes huge.  
"What do we do?" Puckie whispered, clutching Imagine's bag to her chest.  
Knavish opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head. He had no fucking idea what they were going to do.


	3. Chapter 3

"Well," sighed a voice overhead, making them all jump, "I'd say you were all having a bad day, but I don't think 'bad' would quite cover it, huh?"  
Knavish's head came up and he looked around, wide-eyed. Something caught his attention, just out of the corner of his eye, and he swung around to stare at it. Up there, high in the trees, just barely out of sight, sat...something. He couldn't tell what it was.  
The thing shifted, then abruptly dropped twenty feet from the tree tops until it landed easily on both feet on the ground, shaking leaves from vibrantly red hair.  
"So..." the red headed boy looked up at them, grinning faintly, though the look in his green eyes was almost pitying, "You guys wanna start by telling me how you got in this mess?"  
Iron gaped at the fey, recognizing him immediately, and a high pitched squeak escaped her open mouth as she ogled him.  
"Oh, my God," she whispered, and pointed a shaking finger at him. "You...you... Oh, my God. Oh...God. No. NO. I am NOT dealing with this! First that freaking wolf! Then Rowan and freaking Sage! Now YOU! No, I am DONE HERE!"  
Puck's eyebrows shot up on his forehead as he directed his attention to the girl, who was very white, and looked very frantic as she jammed the heels of her hands into her eyes and drew her knees up to her chest.  
"I hate to tell you, chick," the faery said calmly, "But I don't really think you ARE done. Not unless you're really okay just leaving your other two friends with those nightmares."  
He jerked his thumb in the direction Sage and Rowan had disappeared.  
"No," said Puckie, shaking her head fiercely, "No way. We're not leaving them here."  
"Thought so," sighed Puck, giving the girl an approving look. "Though, given how you all are taking this, I get the feeling you know this isn't going to be a picnic. By the way"-he glanced at Iron again-"What's so bad about me? If anything, you should be thrilled to see me."  
Iron only shook her head, still with her hands over her face, her shoulders shaking slightly.  
"I'm just done," she mumbled. "I just...this wasn't supposed to happen..."  
Puck frowned, and Puckie and Knavish looked down.  
It was true. None of this was supposed to happen at all. This wasn't at all what they had thought would happen once they got to the Nevernever... They should have known better, though...  
Puckie tucked her head to her chest, keeping Imagine's bag clutched tightly in her arms.  
"Alright," sighed Puck, dropping into a crouch in front of the three of them, frowning, "I know this sucks. I know you probably just want to forget all about this. I also get the feeling you want to get your friends back. So, my big question here is whether you A: Just want to bail and go home and call it a day, or B: Risk potential death and go get your friends?"  
He eyed them all, then shrugged. "Totally up to you. Either way, I can't leave you all here, so I'll just hang out until you come up with something."  
And with that he dropped onto the ground and crossed his legs, arms across his knees, and waited patiently while the three humans exchanged looks.  
"We can't leave them," Puckie said quietly, frowning at Knavish.  
He nodded his head in agreement, but he also had no damn idea what they could do. He glanced at Iron, who had finally dropped her hands and was just looking very tired, and possibly close to tears. He couldn't really tell.  
She met his gaze, and gave a helpless shrug.  
"I want the nerds back," she said.  
He gave a faint smile, and she managed a small smile back.  
"Alright, then," said Puck, grinning. "I suppose we're getting your nerds back."  
"How?" asked Puckie, frowning at him.  
Puck opened his mouth, then hesitated, sighed, and closed it again. "I hadn't quite figured that part out yet, actually," he admitted. "I was hoping you had an idea."  
"No," said Knavish, shaking his head.  
"Uh-huh. Well...that sucks," said Puck, propping his chin up on his hand. "I don't suppose you have anything useful in the bag."  
He nodded towards the backpack in Puckie's arms. She blinked, then looked down at the sack. She tugged at the zippers and peered inside. Not much there to really help them. A pack of food, a couple bottles of water, a few pens, a notebook, crumpled scraps of paper, and a flashlight.  
She shook her head and zipped the pack shut again. "No...nothing."  
Puck sighed again, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.  
"What's going to happen to them?" Knavish asked, looking through narrowed eyes at the Summer faery.  
Puck peered up at him, green eyes half narrowed, and lowered his hand. "I think you already know," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "If they won't tell Mab where you lot are...well, yeah..."  
Puckie made a sound of distress and dug her fingers into the backpack. Iron's lower lip started trembling.  
"Why does Mab hate humans so much?" Knavish demanded, suddenly pissed off for no reason. "What the hell does she have against us?"  
Puck gave him a long look. "That's kind of a loaded question, kid," he said. "Really, she's got every right to hate humans. She just doesn't get that not all humans are from the same mold. Humans are humans to her. You're both the reason she exists and the reason she'll die. It's a complex relationship, really. That, and she's just malevolent."  
He shrugged again, giving a humorless smile.  
Knavish sat in silence a moment, still furious, but with the tiniest twinge of guilt. He shouldn't feel guilty at all, not after what Mab did and forced her sons to do, but at the same time he couldn't imagine what it was like to be in a position like hers. Being so powerful, and at the same time knowing that there would eventually be a time when she would cease to exist, and there was nothing she could do about it. If he had to be honest with himself, he'd probably be as angry and resentful as she was if he were in that position. Still...he couldn't feel too sorry for someone like her. She was the whole reason Jester and Imagine might die if they didn't figure out a way to get them back.  
"We need to find them," he murmured, and Puck nodded.  
"Thought you might say that," the Jester said with a little grin. "Now, I may have an idea of how to help you all out, but I'm going to need your total cooperation. I know you may not trust me, and that's fine, but-"  
"We trust you," Puckie said immediately, staring at him.  
Puck blinked, looking mildly taken aback. "Well, alright then," he said, grinning at her. "That was quick. Cool. Well, since I have your trust, then I'm going to need you to do whatever I ask of you guys, when I ask it. No questions asked."  
When they hesitated and exchanged uncertain looks, he sighed and added,  
"Within reason, of course. I don't expect you guys to go jumping off a cliff for me, unless of course that's the only way to save your lives. But, for the most part, just things like 'stay down', 'stay put', 'move', or, the most important, 'run'. Think you can do that?"  
Iron, Knavish and Puckie all exchanged looks with each other, and finally turned back to Puck.  
"I think so," Knavish said, and Puck gave him an approving nod.  
"Excellent. Right, then. So, from what I know, and what I can figure, it'll take more than a day for the little Princes to make it back to Tir Na Nog. Don't look so surprised," he said when Puckie gaped, "The wyldwood is huge, and you guys are basically smack in the middle of it. It's quite a ways to the Courts either way you go. They're not making it there overnight. That gives us a chance to catch up, if we start walking. NOW."  
He got up, and the others hurried to get to their feet as well.  
"They're on horses, though," Iron pointed out, even as Puck started leading the way.  
"They won't get far, chick," he promised her, looking over his shoulder, "Believe me. They don't spend nearly as much time in the wyldwood as I do. I know this place like the back of my hand. Except this nasty little spot a little ways to the south, but we shouldn't have to go through there, if we're lucky."  
"And if we're not lucky?" asked Knavish skeptically.  
"How do you feel about jabberwocks?"  
Knavish had thought he might say something like that...and it didn't make him feel any better.  
"So, what exactly is our plan?" Iron asked, hurrying to walk alongside Puck, her eyebrows pulled together as she frowned at him.  
"Catch up, first and foremost," the Jester said, "I'll think up the rest as we go."  
"You have no idea what we're going to do, do you?" Knavish asked with a sigh.  
"Give me some credit, kid, I generally make things up as I go and they usually turn out pretty well," Puck sighed. "Plus, I can't really say we'll just run in and bail them out when, for all I know, they'll be shackled, sedated, and several other not so nice things I'll try not to elaborate on."  
He glanced at the other three, and shrugged.  
"However, on the off chance they are conscious and unbound, I'll create a distraction and you guys will run in and get them. Easy."  
"What about the wolf?" asked Iron, still uneasy.  
Puck hesitated. "Ah, yes, the wolf," he said slowly, "I...forgot...about the wolf. Um...we'll worry about that hurdle when we get to it. How about that?"  
Iron was getting less and less certain about this the more Puck talked. Which was bad, because out of every fey in the entire Nevernever, Puck was probably the only one she would ever consider trusting. She could only hope he was as reliable in person as he was in the books, and that his current nonchalance was just his way of making them less tense. Because, otherwise, she got the sense this was going to end very badly...  
"So, how exactly did you guys all get here anyway?" Puck asked after a few moments of walking, frowning at them.  
Knavish glanced at Puckie, then Iron, and shrugged. "No idea. It just kind of happened."  
"Uh-huh..." Puck eyed them all for a moment.  
"How did you find us?" Puckie asked, distracting him.  
"Luck," he said, shrugging. "Sort of. Half luck. Half because someone rang me up and said I owed them a favor, soooo, yeah."  
"A favor?" Knavish raised an eyebrow. "Who do you owe a favor to?"  
"No one all that fun to be around, if I'm being honest," said Puck with a grimace, "But the little furball rang and I had to answer. Lucky I did, which is where the luck part comes in, because I don't know how you guys would have really dealt with it all if someone hadn't shown up to help you out. Not saying you're helpless, but..."  
"We're helpless," said Knavish bluntly.  
"Kinda, sorta, yeah." Puck gave him an apologetic grin. "Sorry, kid."  
"So, I'm going to take a wild guess here," said Iron slowly, "That by furball...you mean Grimalkin?"  
Puck slowed his pace, and swiveled around to look at her, eyebrows raised, walking backwards.  
"Indeed," he said, looking impressed. "So I guess he was right after all...huh."  
"Right about what?" Puckie asked, frowning in confusion.  
"That you guys are...how did he put it? Critical to our existence? Something eerily prophetic like that," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "He may have mentioned you would know more about us than I'd be comfortable with. Which I kind of already figured, given your little reaction to me." He glanced at Iron.  
Her cheeks darkened slightly and she scowled at him. "I've had enough fey popping up for one day, and you surprised me," she said. "Besides, when you show up, shit happens."  
"Fun shit," he said, smirking. "Always fun. Believe me. I would know."  
"Didn't you get turned into a crow and locked in a cage once because you were helping humans?" Knavish quizzed him, earning him a grimace from the summer fey.  
"Yes, yes I did," he muttered, "Let's not talk about it. That was not a fun experience." He gave Knavish a sideways look. "What else do you know about me?"  
"You got shot. Once."  
"Ow. Yes. Another thing I'd rather forget. Near death experiences, while exciting, are not my favorite thing," said Puck, shuddering. "Let's try something...memorable. Thrilling. Maybe not so humiliating. Yes?"  
"You kissed Meghan Chase," Iron said. "While the furball was watching."  
"Hey, he was not invited to that party," Puck said, wagging a finger at her. "Nasty little peeping tomcat. Always ruining the mood."  
"But you got to kiss Meghan," Puckie reminded him.  
"You bet I did, and it was totally worth it." Puck grinned broadly, a twinkle in his eye. What else you guys got on me?"  
"You pissed of Titania," Iron said, "A lot. You gave Angie the Cheerleader a pig nose to get back at her for making fun of Meghan, too."  
"Ah, yes," sighed Puck with a fond smile. "Good times. Gotta love high school. Alright, I'll give you guys credit. You know enough to legitimately scare me. Let's even the playing field a bit. What've you got on Ice Boy?"  
"A lot of creepy stuff, actually," Puckie said with a frown.  
"Always creepy," agreed Puck, "That's his speciality I'm afraid."  
"Is there a reason you're drilling us?" Knavish asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Just curious to see how much you little kiddies know," the Jester responded with a shrug and a wink. "You never know. It might come in handy for you guys to know all this stuff in the long run. You know, survival and all that."  
Knavish and the others exchanged looks.  
"So, anything I should know about you lot while we're on the subject of getting to know each other?" Puck inquired, still sauntering along backwards, hands behind his back, eyebrows raised. "Hobbies, dreams, GPA? Anything at all?"  
"Nothing really," said Iron, shrugging and frowning at him. "We're mostly average."  
Puck smirked. "Mostly?" he prompted. "What part of you isn't ALL average?"  
"We're here, aren't we?" Iron asked drily, and he snickered.  
"Fair point," he admitted. "And you haven't gone totally insane yet, or maybe you're already there and I just haven't noticed it yet."  
That made Puckie frown. She'd forgotten humans could go mental if they stayed in the Nevernever too long... How long had they been here already? A week? It felt like a week...but maybe it'd been longer. She couldn't tell anymore...  
"Maybe we're just lucky," Iron suggested. "I dunno. I think Knavish is pretty insane. And Imagine. Both of them. Totally insane."  
"And...who is Knavish again?" Puck asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
Knavish raised his hand.  
"Ah." Puck gave him a once over. "Alright then. Knavish it is. Who's Imagine?"  
They all hesitated.  
"She was one of the ones who got taken," Puckie answered at last. "Her arm was broken."  
"Ah," murmured Puck, frowning. "She was a spunky little thing. I'll give her that. Standing up to Mab's little duo isn't anything someone sane would do, so I guess she IS totally mental. And the other girl was...?"  
"Jester," Iron said, and Puck's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline.  
"Jester," he said slowly. "That wouldn't, by any chance, refer to...?"  
"You," confirmed Knavish, nodding. "We all kind of belong to this...fandom."  
"Fandom, huh?" Puck looked interested now. "Do tell. Are talking book fandom? Movie fandom? Obscure interests that 90% of the world doesn't know of fandom?"  
"Book fandom," said Puckie. "Book fandom having to do with you. And Ash. And...pretty much everyone in the Nevernever."  
"Ah." Puck sighed. "That fandom...I thought that was the case."  
"You know the books?"  
"Oh, yes," sighed Puck, shaking his head, "Horrible exaggeration, really. People who deserved to live died and people who deserved to die lived, though I won't name names."  
"But you did get shot," Knavish said.  
"And you did kiss Meghan," Iron added.  
"Yes, and absolutely yes. As we've already discussed. I just hoped you might've known about those little things through something else." Puck made a face. "Those books were well written, but...not quite accurate. At least not where it counted. I swear, Rowan should've kicked the bucket a while ago. But, oh, no. Mab just has to protect her precious little toe rag of a nightmare."  
He grimaced.  
"Why isn't he dead?" demanded Iron, sounding genuinely irritated. "He totally deserved it!"  
"Finally, someone agrees with me," Puck rejoiced, beaming at her. "And, to be honest, the best thing I can tell you is that Rowan didn't quite turn out the traitor that he was in the books. Unfortunately. Yes, he tried to kill Sage, but without any help from the Iron fey. No, he didn't succeed. Yes, he got his ass whooped for it. No, he didn't get killed for it. That's about all I know. That, and he actually proved pretty useful during the war. Much as it pains me to admit it."  
Iron blinked. "He HELPED?" she asked in total disbelief. "ROWAN? We're talking about the same guy that just kidnapped our friends and plans to kill them, right?"  
"Yep," Puck snapped the word like bubblegum. "Shocking, huh?"  
"Are you sure he wasn't a double agent or something?" Iron asked, narrowing her eyes.  
"Confident," Puck said with a tight smile. "Believe me, if he had been, I'd have happily offed him myself. He's not my favorite person, as you may have guessed. And, given the circumstances, I figure he isn't yours, either."  
"Can we kill him?" Iron asked, earning her a look from Knavish. She sounded just a little TOO eager...  
"I wish," snorted Puck, "But that might start a war, and war kind of sucks, so, for the sake of everyone involved I say we merely knock him out, kick dirt in his face, leave him for the kelpies, and get away with your friends. Sound like a plan?"  
"An insane plan," said Puckie, wide-eyed.  
"Chick, you should know everything I do is insane," Puck said with a grin. "I practically invented the word."  
"That doesn't surprise me, actually," she muttered under her breath.  
If Puck heard her, he pretended not to, turning back around to walk forward, whistling idly to himself.  
"So, anything else you all want to tell me about your two friends that might help us get them out in one piece?" the Trickster asked over his shoulder. "Or that might put them in more danger than they already are?"  
"Uh...Jester has a big mouth and Imagine...well, I dunno about Imagine, but I figure it's best if she doesn't stay with them," Iron said, shrugging.  
"Her name is Imagine?" Puck asked, sounding disbelieving. "Dare I ask why?"  
"Her blog," said Knavish simply.  
"A blog," muttered Puck, and shuddered. "Of course. You kids and your technology. Ugh...whatever happened to a good book?"  
"Hey, if it weren't for the blog, you probably wouldn't be getting anywhere near as much glamour and stuff as you are," Puckie told him defensively. "It's because of the blog more people like you and think about you."  
"Alright, I take it back," sighed Puck, "Technology isn't ALL bad. Except for the part where it kind of burns to touch it and it can kill me if I hang out long enough."  
"Yeah, that kind of sucks, I bet," said Knavish.  
"Yeah it does," said Puck with a snort. "So, aside from the blog, anything else you wanna tell me about your friends?"  
"They're both nerds," Iron supplied.  
Puck snickered. "Great. I love nerds. This sounds like it's going to be a fun rescue mission. Remember to thank me when it's over."  
"Never thank a fey," said Puckie wisely, earning her an amused look from Puck.  
"Not even me?" he asked innocently.  
"Not even you," Puckie told him.  
"Smart girl," he chortled. "Just keep that up and you might make it out of here without losing your firstborn child."


	4. Chapter 4

Imagine came around slowly, not quite sure where she was, or why her arm hurt so much. She had a vague memory of a dream she'd been having, where she, Puckie, Knavish, Iron, and Jester had all ended up in the legendary Nevernever, land of the Fey. She remembered a wolf, and the Winter Princes, Sage and Rowan, had been there. She didn't think it had been so much of a dream as a nightmare, but at least it was over.

Sighing, and started to roll gingerly, trying to lay on her back, but was stopped abruptly as a shooting pain streaked up her arm, and left her momentarily stunned and breathless while tears stung her eyes. Sucking air, she went still, breathing deeply, trying to think through the pain. Slowly, she opened her eyes, still breathing unsteadily, and felt her stomach disappear as she found herself lying on her side on the ground, surrounded by leaves and various twigs. And, sitting in front of her, legs crossed, with his sword across his lap, was Sage.

His expression as he looked down at her was frighteningly blank. There was no hint of concern or even curiosity in his gaze. Just an eerie kind of disinterest. As though she were no more distinctive to him than the leaves she was laying in. And then it hit her. She hadn't been dreaming.

She was in the Nevernever. Sage and Rowan had taken her and Jester hostage. Sage had broken her arm. The realization made her head reel and her stomach churned and pitched with sudden nausea, and suddenly she was having a hard time breathing properly.

"I'd calm down if I were you," Sage advised her in a low voice, keeping his expression neutral, seemingly unperturbed by her sudden panic attack. "Rowan just went to sleep and if you wake him up screaming he will be none too thrilled."

Just the idea of Rowan would have been enough to make her scream if she weren't so concerned with what he would do when he woke up. Forcing herself to stay as calm as she could, she took a slow, deep breath, and tried to focus on something other than Sage for a moment while she collected herself. Tears still pricked at her eyes, and it took a few more desperate gulps of air before she managed to force them back and choke down the rising sobs in her throat.

She wasn't sure if it was the pain in her arm or the jolt of realizing that she was, in fact, trapped with the Winter Princes, that had made her so hysterical. Maybe both. Either way, she needed to stay as quiet and as still as she could. One for the sake of keeping her injury as steady as she could, and two for making sure she didn't rouse the younger of the Princes.

Sage continued to watch her with his steady green eyes, his bangs hanging into his face as he tilted his head slightly to analyze her.

"I don't suppose you've changed your mind about telling me where the other humans are?" he inquired lightly.

She surprised even herself by managing a glare.

The Prince's lips twitched at the corners as though he might smile. "I will take that as a no," he guessed, arching an eyebrow. "You're an odd human, aren't you?"

"Depends on your definition," she mumbled, wincing as even her breathing drew a slight throb of pain from her broken arm. She was uncomfortable laying on her side in the dirt, but did not dare move onto her back now. She didn't think she'd be able to stand the pain if she shifted.

"Most humans don't typically make so much effort to safeguard others, do they?" inquired Sage. "Aren't you more for an 'every man for himself' type of mindset?"

"No, that's you all," she retorted under her breath.

The Prince did smile now, though it was an empty gesture, and there was no kindness or humor in his gaze.

"Fair enough," he said, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "Though, I would advise you to reconsider your position. As it stands, you'll likely be dead by tomorrow. Whether by Rowan's hand or the Queen's still remains to be seen. You might at least make your death less painful by giving us the information we want."

"Dead is dead," she said, and was amazed that her voice didn't shake with fear, "How I end up that way is irrelevant."

Sage eyed her for a long moment, then sighed and turned his attention back to the fire in front of him. "You are an odd human."

"I take that as a compliment."

The Prince gave her a long sideways glance, but deigned not to respond, instead busying himself adding kindling to the fire.

"Where is Jester?" she asked after a long pause in which she debated whether he'd kill her for asking or not.

Sage didn't even glance at her. "Behind you. Passed out."

The thought somehow made her feel better, but she wished she could just turn over and see for herself that Jester was okay. She knew Sage couldn't lie to her, but she still didn't entirely trust him.

"So," the Prince murmured, distracting her from her train of thought, "Where are the other humans?"

She didn't know whether she should be exasperated or not, but she was. "You can quit asking. I'm not telling you."

He turned his head to look her in the eyes and lifted a black eyebrow. "Shall I break your other arm?" he asked coolly.

When she tensed, he actually smirked.

"Calm down, human," he sighed, prodding at the fire with another long stick, "Breaking your arm didn't get me very far the last time I tried it. I'll give you credit for being stubborn, though."

"You act as though you don't know where they are," she observed, narrowing her eyes at him. "You could very easily have asked your wolf to track them."

"I could have," he agreed without looking at her, "But I felt it might put your valiant efforts to protect them to waste if I made it so easy to find them. As it is, they won't last particularly long in the wyldwood."

She had already known that, but just hearing the prince voice her fears aloud made her queasy, and she had to take another slow breath before she made herself sick. She didn't want to think of the others alone in the wyldwood, essentially trapped on their own. Well, at least they had her bookbag. That was something... There was some food and a stun gun in there, for all the good it might do them to use it. Worst case scenario, if the battery ran out they could always beat off advancing fey with it, assuming it had enough iron in it to make it a noticeable threat.

"Why did you even bother tracking us?" she asked quietly. "If we were going to die here anyway, why does it matter?"

Sage didn't answer her immediately, and she almost wondered if he had deliberately ignored her. As it turned out, when he spoke a few moments later, he had only been contemplating his answer,

"How long have you all been here?"

She blinked at him, confused. "What?"

"How long have you all been here in the Nevernever?" he repeated patiently.

"Uh..." How was she supposed to know? "I don't know...a few days, why does it matter?"

"A few days here can be several months in the human world," he said, "You could very easily have gone insane by now. Humans don't generally do very well keeping a stable mind once they've entered the Nevernever. Yet you and your companion seemed, for the most part, perfectly sane. If you don't count standing up to Rowan, that is."

She didn't want to smile, but the slightly weary tone of his voice struck her as funny. Or maybe she was just about to lose her mind, like he'd said.

"I think it's fair enough to say, at least, that you and your companions are no average humans," Sage said at last, "And I am sure you would interest Mab."

"You mean before she kills us," Imagine said coldly.

Sage's answering smile was as chilled as her voice. "Yes."

"We don't even know how we got here," she said, a little desperately.

His expression didn't change.

"That is what makes you valuable to Mab," he murmured. "You arrived here without knowing how you managed it, and you have all maintained your sanity, in spite of your exposure to the glamour here. That alone makes you extremely valuable to Mab. Couple that with the fact that you are only two of however many of you arrived here makes you and your friend here an even more fascinating pair. You stood up to Rowan and myself, at threat of immediate death. Is there any reason Mab shouldn't be interested?"

He blinked slowly at her, and she for once had no way to respond to him. Because he was right.

"She may allow you to live longer, depending on how much you interest or, if you interest her at all," he murmured, and if his voice weren't so neutral she would almost think he was trying to reassure her. "Though, that's not exactly a consolation. Humans in the Winter Court live very miserable existances."

"And here I thought you were trying to be nice to me," she joked bitterly, closing her eyes so she didn't have to look at him.

He was quiet, but she guessed he wouldn't stay that way for long. She was right.

"I would suggest cooperating with her at least," he advised her in a low voice. "If you thought my breaking your arm was harsh, you have no idea..."

"I think I have a clue," she said quietly. "It's probably not the best idea to tell you, but I figure you'll find out anyway, we know a good amount about you."

Sage's silence made her heart thump uncomfortably fast in her chest.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" he asked softly, and when she opened her eyes again it was to see that his expression had gone-if possible-even more void than before. His eyes looked as close to dead as they could possibly get, and there was no light left in them. Even with the fire reflecting off of his pupils.

"There are books about you in the Human World," she told him quietly. "Just a small number of them. They were written specifically about you, and Rowan, and Ash, and...a few other people."

She didn't know why, but she felt extremely reluctant to tell him that the Iron Fey books also included Meghan. She had no idea why, but just seeing him and Rowan alive-when they should have been killed off in the books-made her uneasy. She hadn't heard anything about Ash's situation. He could have never been born, or even married to Ariella for all she knew. Nothing was as it had been in the books...

"And what exactly did those books have to say about us?" he inquired in a would-be casual voice, but she thought she saw his hand tighten around the hilt of his sword.

Maybe he would kill her before Mab got a chance to. Wouldn't that be a happy misfortune...

"They..." She hesitated as her throat went very dry, and had to swallow hard before she could manage to speak again. When she did, she felt herself shaking, "They said you were dead... You and Rowan."

Sage went even stiller than before, so still he could have easily become part of the forest around them. He watched her for a long moment, his expression giving nothing away, but there was a kind of darkness in his eyes that hadn't been there before, and it frightened her.

"Was that all?" he inquired lightly.

"No," she murmured, then paused before adding, "But I don't feel like telling you the rest."

"I see." His eyes raked over her face, as though searching for the answers she wouldn't give, but he didn't seem to find them, because he looked back into the fire and did not speak.

Imagine left him to his thoughts, sure they were enough to make her dizzy, or maybe that was the throbbing pain her arm. Her other side was stiff from having lain on it so long, but she was terrified of jarring her injury and didn't dare move. She wondered just how close behind her Jester was. If she shifted backwards, maybe she could reach her...

She was just thinking about moving when Sage's head came up sharply, his eyes scanning the trees, and a low rumbling growl behind her told her his wolf had sensed something as well.

"Rowan," Sage said, and there was a quiet rustling as the younger prince evidently roused himself.

"What?" he yawned from somewhere behind Imagine.

"Someone's coming," Sage informed him, already getting to his feet, sword drawn.

"Oh, the fun." Imagine could hear the smirk in Rowan's voice without even seeing him, and listened as he clambered to his feet.

There was a rasp of metal on metal, and she knew he'd drawn his sword as well.

Sage stepped around her, and out of view, leaving her only to look ahead towards the seemingly empty forest ahead of her. For some reason it unnerved her, and she wished she was unconscious again. With that no longer an option, she listened hard as the princes moved slowly around, obviously positioning themselves for a defense, or offense, whichever was necessary. Her heart was pounding hard in her ears, almost drowning out other sounds, but she could just make out a soft crackling that was not quite in sync with the other princes.

It didn't sound like another person. The steps were a bit heavier, and denser, and seemed to come in an odd pattern. More like a horse, she thought. And the closer they got, the more convinced she was that that was exactly what she was hearing.

Sage and Rowan had stopped moving now, and were probably standing ready for whatever was coming their way. Whatever it was didn't take much longer in arriving. Just moments later, the thuds of hooves shook the ground under Imagine's head, and then stopped altogether.

Then a voice spoke. "Well, well, what have we here?"

She didn't recognize the voice. But it was male, and sounded less than pleased.

"The Iron Queen's lieutenant," Sage said quietly, and Imagine tensed. "How odd to see you so far from your home."

"And you from yours," returned Glitch coolly.

Imagine heard feet hit the ground, and knew he'd dismounted from his horse.

"And what, or should I say _who_ do you have with you exactly?" he inquired, and she felt her heart give a hopeful leap.

"I don't remember that being any of your concern," Rowan sneered.

"It's my concern when they're obviously human," Glitch said in a deadly quiet voice, "And obviously hurt. Hand them over."

"I don't think so." There was a flurry of frigid cold air, and Imagine shivered as frost grew over the scattered leaves around her, kicking up some of the loose ferns.

"Very nice, Frosty," Glitch said, sounding thoroughly unimpressed. "Now, I'm serious. Hand them over before I do something you'll regret."

"We want no trouble, Lieutenant," Sage's voice cut in calmly.

"Neither do I, your Highness," Glitch returned cordially, "So let me take the humans home, and there won't be trouble."

"You can't guarantee that," Sage told him softly. "They arrived here on their own without understanding how they got here. Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"Killing off humans won't keep them out of the Nevernever," said Glitch, but Imagine could hear a slight hesitation in his voice.

"It'll keep these out," Rowan said in a chilling voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Try me, Prince," Glitch growled, and Imagine heard a third sword being drawn. This time, she felt the tension spike.

She knew Glitch's sword had to be made of pure iron. A lethal substance to regular faeries like Rowan and Sage. It was true the brothers had numbers on their side, but Glitch's glamour surpassed theirs easily. If it came down to a fight, Glitch would certainly win, even he was a little battered. And she knew the princes knew that. Or, it seemed _Sage _knew that.

"Again, we wish for no trouble, Lieutenant, but these humans are ours to deal with," the eldest Prince murmured.

"You mean to kill," said Glitch in disgust.

"You expect us to believe you would do no less if you found them in your territory?" Rowan asked in scornful disbelief.

"I don't remember the wyldwood being claimed by Tir Na Nog," retorted Glitch. "This is neutral territory."

"So, shall we leave them for the Dips and the Kelpies?" Rowan asked. "If we're discussing who gets to kill them in terms of territory, it's only fair to leave them for the wild fey."

"I've had it up to here with you, little Prince," muttered Glitch, and Imagine could just picture him leveling his sword at the younger royal.

"Oh, please," Rowan gave a harsh laugh of derision, "By all means. Run me through. I'm sure that would go over so well with our Queens, don't you?"

Glitch didn't answer, but Imagine knew he was stuck. He could easily fight the princes, but not without having to face Mab's wrath afterwards.

"How about a deal?" suggested Sage, and there was a tense silence.

"I'm listening," Glitch said at last, albeit it stiffly.

"Both of them are injured, but one is unable to walk," Sage explained, and Imagine could feel her heart leap and sink at the same time. "If you will take the one who is unable to walk, and leave us with the other-"

"Not if you begged," Glitch answered before the Prince could finish, and his voice was full of barely contained rage.

Sage sighed. "Then we will be taking both of them, it seems."

"Not on my watch."

There was a pause, and Imagine wondered briefly what was happening. She guessed Glitch and Rowan were exchanging glares while Sage and his wolf stood stoically to the side. She almost wanted to say something, but had no idea what she would say, or even if it would help her.

"I would really rather avoid hurting you, Lieutenant," Sage murmured at last.

"Because you'll get your ass kicked, or because you don't want to piss off the Queen?" Glitch inquired.

"I suppose it would depend on which Queen we are discussing," Sage replied. "My Queen has ordered we return with these humans. Your Queen does not wish for humans to be harmed, and yet these humans came here of their own accord. I cannot be held responsible for their foolishness."

"I told you we didn't know how we got here," Imagine burst out, unable to contain herself anymore.

There was immediate silence, and then the air seemed to crackle with electricity.

"You didn't say she was awake," Glitch said dangerously.

"She is," Sage said, and earned a venomous hiss from Rowan that seemed to go unnoticed. "You may speak with her if you wish."

There was a pause and then a blast of wind.

"From there, if you please," Sage said coolly, and Imagine knew that Glitch had started to walk towards her.

"How about you back off, your Highness?" Glitch snarled. "You act all saintly, but I'm just as sick of you as I am of him."

Rowan made an ugly noise, and Sage's wolf growled.

"I'm taking the humans with me, and that's the end of it," Glitch said curtly, "If you stand in the way, I _will _knock you down."

"By all means," Rowan invited him tauntingly. "I've always wanted to have a reason to behead you."

Imagine could feel the tension mounting, and knew that any second a fight would break out. A fight in which, she somehow knew, Rowan would manage to harm, or kill, her and Jester. He wasn't beneath murdering them right there just to keep Glitch from getting to them. And, from what she could tell, Jester was still unconscious. That meant she had to think up something, and quickly, if she wanted to get them out safely. Or at least alive. She didn't much care at this point if she left with two broken arms so long as she was still breathing.

So as the tension reached a breaking point, she sucked in a breath, shoved down her fear, and told the biggest lie she had probably ever told, and prayed it wouldn't get her killed.

"I know your True Name!"


	5. Chapter 5

There was silence. Not just quiet silence, but total, ear-shattering silence.

"I know your True Name, Sage," Imagine said, a little quieter this time.

More silence, and she waited with baited breath. Praying. Hoping.

"How?" Sage's whisper was almost inaudible.

"The book," she said, grateful beyond belief that her voice somehow, miraculously, didn't tremble. "It was in the book."

"Which book?" demanded Rowan, and she could hear the veiled eagerness in his voice.

"I don't remember," she lied. She may not like Sage, but she wasn't about to sell him out to his brother. Then she remembered she'd lied about knowing Sage's name and wondered why she hadn't just told Rowan some stupid made up name. Well, with her luck he'd probably have figured out if she gave him a fake name…

There was a quiet rustling as one of the fey moved behind her, and she tensed as a shadow fell over her.

"Don't touch her, Prince," Glitch warned dangerously, "Or I _will _make you regret it."

"I love it when you talk like you've got a chance," Rowan sneered.

"Enough," said Sage curtly over her head, and the two squabbling fey went quiet as an icy breeze swept the clearing.

The chill went straight through Imagine's thin clothes and she shivered, though she cut the action short when the slight movement jarred her broken arm and sent a throb of pain running the length of her torso.

She glanced over her shoulder, trying to judge how close Sage was, and felt an uncomfortable twisting in the pit of her stomach as she locked eyes with him as he towered over her. His expression was completely blank, but she could tell he was thinking hard. After all, she'd just claimed to know the most important piece of information about him. That wasn't exactly something he could take lying down. It was the same as if she had threatened him.

"What do you want?" he asked her then, surprising her.

"What?" she asked, confused.

The Prince raised an eyebrow, then dropped to one knee beside her, leaning closer and lowering his voice, "You know my True Name. I assume you plan on using this information to blackmail me. So, should I kill you outright or are you offering to make an exchange?"

She swallowed hard, not liking the iciness of his voice.

"Let Glitch take Jester with him," she said, a little shakily as her fear started to get the better of her.

Rowan gave a sound of disbelief, but Sage held up a hand.

"And what do I get?" he inquired mildly.

"…Me," said Imagine, and actually felt a little humiliated saying the word.

She'd only ever read about people saying such cheesy lines to their captors, like in _Beauty and the Beast. _She'd never actually thought she'd ever have to say it for a completely serious reason…

"Sage," said Rowan sharply, "You can't be seriously thinking of agreeing to that, are you? Just kill her off if you have to, but—"

"You seem to like to forget that I'm standing right here and if you so much as put a finger on either of them you're going to wind up missing some very precious parts, little Prince," Glitch said dangerously.

"You and whose army?" scoffed Rowan. "You expect us to believe you're willing to go to war over a couple of human girls?"

"Like I said, I don't think my Queen would be very happy to find out that Winter's brats are killing off humans for fun," Glitch retorted.

"They wandered here on their own, it's not my fault if they're stupid enough to come onto our turf," Rowan said.

"And what part of the wyldwood is your turf again?" mused Glitch tersely.

"Fine," said Sage abruptly, and there was silence.

"Come again?" asked Glitch.

"You can take the lame one," Sage informed him, getting to his feet and turning to face the Iron Lieutenant.

"Sage!" burst out Rowan, but Sage ignored him.

"She's unconscious and can't walk," Sage told Glitch, gesturing towards Jester's still motionless form. "I'm sure there are other friends of hers roaming about if you have any interest in trying to catch them, but that's up to you and whether or not she decides to let you know their whereabouts."

"I'll take my chances," said Glitch coolly. "Hand her over."

Sage rolled his shoulders and stood to the side, gesturing for Glitch to come forward. The Lieutenant didn't fail to notice, however, that the eldest Prince made very certain to keep him cut off from the other human female. He also saw Rowan eyeing the unconscious human contemplatively, and shot the Prince a deadly look.

"Don't even think it, your Highness," he growled.

Rowan smirked, but put up his hands in the gesture of defeat. Glitch knew better than to trust that. Rowan hated to lose, and he was essentially losing half of his prize.

Glitch kept a wary eye on both princes as he stooped to gingerly lift the limp body of the second human into his arms, and walked back towards his horse with her. Only after he'd securely gotten her settled on the back of the animal and swung himself back up into the saddle that he allowed himself to relax even the tiniest bit.

"I'll be coming back for the other human," he told Sage curtly. "With the Queen's support."

"I'm so sure," snorted Rowan, unimpressed.

Sage decided not to comment, and merely inclined his head to the Lieutenant.

Glitch hesitated a moment longer, casting a final look at Imagine, before turning his horse around and proceeding back the way he'd come.

"I cannot believe you are so soft," said Rowan in utter disgust, turning to glare at Sage. "There was no reason to give him that human."

Sage ignored him, turning instead to look down at Imagine, who was just about to start hyperventilating because she was only now becoming aware of the situation she'd put herself in.

"You don't even know that she won't use your True Name against you," Rowan insisted, his gaze switching eagerly between his brother and Imagine. "I say kill her now. We'll explain the situation to Mab."

"No," Sage murmured, and Rowan looked mutinous. "We'll return with her to Tir Na Nog, and let Mab decide what to do with her."

"You are so unbelievably pathetic," sneered Rowan, and turned to stalk over to his horse, loosening the reigns from the tree he'd tied them to and swinging himself up in the saddle, shooting a look of pure disdain at his brother. "Outdone by a human… Really."

Sage continued to ignore his brother's jibes, and instead bent to slide an arm around Imagine's waist, pulling her into a sitting position. She squeaked in pain as the movement disturbed her injured arm, and shot Sage a glare.

He saw, and raised an eyebrow slowly.

"I could always break your other arm," he pointed out mildly, "To take your mind off of this one…"

She tensed, and he gave an empty smile.

"I thought not," he murmured, then caught at the upper arm of her uninjured half and tugged her upright until she was standing.

He led her over to his horse, and hoisted her into the saddle, in front of him this time. He swung up behind her before she had a chance to consider leaping back off and running for it, but then she spotted the large gray wolf prowling up behind them and reconsidered any ideas of escape.

Sage kicked his horse's flank lightly, and the animal gave a quiet snort before breaking into a brisk trot after Rowan, who had already started off ahead of them, clearly not able to stand being the presence of such weak creatures any longer than was necessary. The wolf loped along silently behind them, not even its breath audible as it ran to keep pace with the large stallion.

Every stride of the horse caused Imagine's arm to bump against her side, and in a matter of minutes she was in tears and nauseous from pain. She would have used her other hand to hold it more firmly to lessen the movement, but she had never been comfortable astride a horse, and was using her free hand to hold as tightly to the saddle horn as she could while her thighs gripped the horse's heaving flanks with all her might.

As the horse made a short jump over a log, she gave a choked sound of pain as the landing jarred her arm to the point that her vision swam as pain stabbed at her.

Sage readjusted his grip on the reigns, taking them in only one hand, and using the other arm to circle her waist; holding her firmly.

"Hold your arm if it's causing you so much pain," he muttered in her ear.

It had to be the cold of his breath, she decided, more than the sound of his voice so close to her ear that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and her skin prickle. She hesitantly loosened her death grip on the saddle horn, almost latching back on again as the horse took a quick turn around a pile of boulders. After another moment working up her courage, she finally released the horn and reached gingerly to better steady her injured arm. Of course, even the lightest pressure of her fingers on the injury made her bite her tongue hard to keep down a sob, and her eyes blurred with tears, but she forced herself to bear it, and managed to at least partially pin her arm to her side, lessening the jolting caused by the horse's brisk strides.

"So," she said a little tensely after a few moments of silent riding, "What happens now?"

"I think you know what happens," he told her coolly. "We take you to the Queen, and she decides what to do with you."

"You don't seem all that concerned that I won't use your True Name against you," she mused, then wished she hadn't said it. Baiting him was bound to get her killed far faster than even Mab could manage.

"Oh, I'm not," he said, and she thought there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"And why is that?" she asked, turning her head slightly to try and look back at him.

She couldn't get a clear view of his face, but his eyes locked with hers for a brief moment before he leaned his head closer to hers and said very quietly in her ear,

"Because I could kill you far more quickly than you could manage to speak, and though the Queen has ordered you to be brought back alive I don't think she really requires you to have the use of your tongue..."

The deliberate threat in his voice made her tense, and she felt her blood run colder than ice as she became very aware of the truth in his words. He'd had no qualms about breaking her arm. He would have no problems breaking any other part of her, or even cutting out her tongue.

Just the thought made her purse her lips together and look straight ahead, her heart racing painfully fast.

"Does that satisfy your question?" he inquired mildly.

She nodded mutely, keeping her eyes fixed ahead of her. She was on the verge of hyperventilating again, and the constant jostling of the horse as it trotted along didn't do much to help the nausea that had settled itself in the pit of her stomach. With any luck, she wouldn't throw up on the Prince before they got to Tir Na Nog… Or maybe she should. Maybe that'd be incentive to get him to let her go long enough that she could take off running…

"You can stop scheming now," the Prince sighed dully.

She tensed, and glanced over her shoulder. "I wasn't," she said automatically, and he tilted his head enough that she could see his thoroughly disbelieving expression. "Sorry…"

He half-smirked. "For lying or scheming?" he inquired.

She chewed her lower lip. "Lying," she said.

"Hmm…"

"How did you even know—?"

"You relaxed," he said before she could finish. "You were so focused on your plans you didn't have time or energy to think about anything else, like staying tense."

She frowned, looking down at the ground as the horse cantered easily around a cluster of bushes, disturbing a nest of piskies.

"I'll give you some advice," Sage said as they turned another bend and the air became noticeably colder, "Try to limit the amount of lies you tell in front of Mab, or at least make them believable."

Imagine couldn't help it. She snorted. "Because that will help," she muttered.

She felt Sage shrug. "At the very least, you'll be tortured less."

"Great," she said, a little meekly. "Because you haven't tortured me already."

Sage didn't respond, but he tugged on the reigns slightly, causing his horse to take a detour around a tree and leap over a fallen log, jostling her enough in the saddle that in spite of holding her broken arm as still as she could, she couldn't help the squeak of pain that escaped her as her broken bones grated together.

She bit down hard on her lower lip, tears welling. "You did that on purpose," she accused him.

"Naturally," he said without any semblance of remorse. "If you consider that torture, you're in for a very rude awakening."

"What's the quickest way to get her to kill me?" Imagine asked tightly, eyes still watering from the throbbing pain in her arm.

"I don't think you'll manage it," he told her, and she thought he sounded faintly amused.

"Oh?" she prompted through gritted teeth. She wished she could kick him for having his horse jump the log, but she figured he'd just take revenge by plunging through a river or something stupid.

"Be as silent and uninteresting as possible," the Prince replied.

"Fantastic," sighed Imagine, closing her eyes as the swaying of the horse and subtle pulse of discomfort in her arm stirred up her nausea. "Maybe you could just kill me instead."

"Shall I call Rowan?" he asked, and he was definitely laughing at her now, even though when she peeked back at him his face was as expressionless as ever.

"Your brother is just as much a sadist as your mother," she told him coldly. "He's probably worse."

"Hardly," said Sage, "Though I'm sure he'd be flattered to know you think so."

She sighed again and closed her eyes, lowering her head, trying to keep herself from vomiting.

"Are you going to pass out again?" he inquired.

"How far away are we?"

"Less than a day."

"That doesn't help me."

"It's not supposed to."

"…I might pass out again… That'd pretty much ensure I was silent and uninteresting, right?" she joked. She could feel herself getting hysterical, and bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep back tears that had nothing to do with the pain in her arm.

She didn't know why, but she felt like he was smirking, and thought his arm might have tightened a bit around her waist, in spite of the fact she was in no danger of sliding off of the horse. Yet.

"That's the spirit," he said.

"This is just so funny for you, isn't it?" she asked, a little irritably.

"I'm not sure I understand the definition," he said, guiding his horse under a tree with low hanging branches.

Luckily, Imagine already had her head down, but started a little when she felt the Prince lean against her as he also ducked to avoid being clotheslined.

"I think it's safe to say you're one of the livelier of the humans we've ended up bring back to the Court," he said, his voice right in her ear.

The hairs on the back of her neck responded by jumping to attention, and she felt a chill slide through her that didn't quite feel related to the nausea or the nerves.

"Should I be flattered?" she asked.

"I'll leave that up to you," the Prince responded, straightening once they were clear of the low branches. "Catching the interest of the Winter Court isn't precisely something to be flattered by. Normally humans who manage such a thing have either successfully infuriated Mab, or they've caught her interest enough to make their lives very long and very miserable."

"Stuck in perpetual slavery in a land of eternal winter," mused Imagine tiredly, her head beginning to throb from the combination of fear, nausea, and pain, "Lucky me."

Sage didn't respond, and they rode in silence for a good distance. She didn't mind. At this point, she was too focused on making sure she didn't vomit on the horse, and she also wasn't sure what else could really be said between them that wouldn't get her into more trouble. Contrary to her previous impression of him, she was starting to think Sage had a rather short temper; he just did a better job of concealing. That or he was just very petty when it came to taking revenge on her for her more obnoxious comments. Either way, she was going to have to rethink the way she'd been writing his character…

Her stomach rolled unpleasantly as Sage urged his horse over a couple of downed trees, and she released her broken arm to cover her mouth as bile rose in throat.

"Please refrain from throwing up on the horse," he said, noticing.

"Then get me off the horse," she said from behind her hand.

Sage sighed, and surprised her by drawing his horse to a standstill. He didn't dismount though, and made no move to allow her down either. However, the pause in movement seemed to help settle her stomach a little, and she took several deep breaths before straightening up a bit.

"Better?" he inquired.

She nodded feebly.

There was a pause, and then she started as he lifted his reign hand to lightly rest on her stomach. The cold of his fingers felt unnaturally good, and she sighed slightly as the cool further eased her nausea, though it did absolutely nothing for her nerves or her pain.

"What are you doing?" she asked, glancing back at him.

"Trying to keep you from ruining the horse," he replied, and she felt a shiver go through the air, almost like thunder, but without sound.

She frowned, then went still as she felt her nausea completely melt away, and a chilling cold settled in her stomach.

"Now what you are doing?" she asked, a little nervously as she glanced down at where his hand rested palm flat against her abdomen, the reigns pressed against her between them.

"Ensuring you won't ruin the horse for the rest of the trip," he said, and lowered his hand.

She frowned, peering back at him as she gingerly regripped her arm, now that she didn't need to use her hand to keep down anything unpleasant, and Sage nudged the horse into motion again.

"You really like this horse, huh?" she asked jokingly, turning her head enough to watch him out of her peripherals.

She thought she saw his lips twitch in the beginnings of a smile, but when she turned her head further his face was blank.

"He's a good horse," the Prince said.

Imagine looked ahead of them again, towards the forest. Rowan had gone completely out of sight at this point, but if she listened hard she could still hear a set of hoofbeats out of sync with Sage's horse.

"Horses freak me out, honestly," she admitted after a moment. "I've only ridden one once before this, and he was an old horse. He didn't have the energy to throw me off if he didn't like me."

Sage gave a quiet sigh. "Why are you telling me this precisely?" he inquired.

"I figure if I'm going to be miserable once we get to Tir Na Nog, you can be miserable on the way there," she replied, shrugging, then regretting the movement instantly as it sent a jolt of pain through her arm. After she was finished blinking white spots from her vision, she added, "Besides, it's small talk or hysteria. Which would you prefer?"

"Small talk is just contained hysteria," Sage replied.

"So it's not hysteria, is it?" she asked shrewdly.

When he didn't answer immediately, she figured he wasn't going to humor her with an answer and started thinking of what else she could say to keep her mind off of the rest of the trip.

Before she could decide whether to tell him about her irrational fear of sharks or the number of cats she'd owned, he asked, "How did I die?"

The question caught her so off guard that she almost forgot to answer even after she'd processed it.

"In the books?" she asked.

"Yes."

She fell quiet for a moment, thinking of how to phrase it. "It's…kind of complicated."

"Death usually is," he said wryly.

"I thought death was easy and it was living that was hard," she said, frowning.

"Death is easy for the dead," Sage told her, "But it's the living who care about it."

He had a point, she thought. "Well…I guess…to sum it up, it was Rowan's fault."

"I can't say I'm surprised. But my question is 'how'."

"Oh…treason?"

"Ah."

"That doesn't surprise you either, does it?"

"Not even remotely. Who was his accomplice?"

"The previous Iron King."

"Machina," Sage guessed.

"No, the one before him," Imagine said. "Ferrum. He tried to take back over the Iron Kingdom after Meghan killed Machina."

Sage was quiet for a long moment, and Imagine eventually looked back at him, trying to see his expression—if there was one.

"You don't believe me?" she asked.

"I believe you," he said simply.

"You're not worried are you?" she asked. "Ferrum is dead. Meghan killed him."

"No," said Sage quietly, "Meghan Chase did not kill him. She exiled him to the Human World."

Imagine went still for a moment, then turned to look up at Sage. He was looking dead ahead, and though his face didn't readily give anything away, she thought his eyes looked a tad darker than they had before, and when they caught up to Rowan at a stream a few minutes later to rest the horses Sage never once took his eyes off of his brother.


	6. Chapter 6

Jester wasn't sure why she was rocking back and forth, but she didn't like it. She frowned, trying to blink her eyes open, and felt her stomach turn a bit as the rocking became suddenly more pronounced.

Her head was so heavy she practically couldn't lift it, and she took a few more seconds to try and figure out what was happening. She remembered Knavish and the others, running like hell, twisting the crap out of her ankle...

Her eyes flew open as her mind suddenly filled in the rest of the blanks, but, wisely, her body stayed completely still and she didn't jerk upright immediately.

Rowan and Sage. Mab's little bastards.

She was a little hazy on the finer details, but she had a very clear memory of Rowan standing over Imagine, leering with his blade drawn. She thought he might've knocked her out, but she couldn't figure out how.

And now that she was awake and alert, she was starting to figure out what that nauseating rocking was. A horse. She was on a horse. Rowan's horse. And that arm around her waist had to be...

She narrowed her eyes, keeping her head down and her body deceptively relaxed, not wanting to let the little bastard know she was awake. She wanted to look around, see where Imagine was, but she didn't dare just yet. She listened, trying to decipher the noise of another horse nearby, knowing Sage had to be holding Imagine if Rowan was busy with her. But she could only make out the sound of Rowan's horse and the quiet sound of his breathing behind her.

Her heart spasmed in alarm. What if Sage had ridden off ahead of them with Imagine? Or the other way around? What if Rowan had gone ahead with just her and they'd killed Imagine? What happened to the others? Had they found them?

She could feel herself beginning to slowly panic, and took as steady and quiet a breath as she could manage without drawing the rider's attention. She had to get off this horse. If she couldn't hear Sage's horse, that meant she and Rowan were very likely alone, and she might at least have a chance of overpowering him...somehow. She thought rapidly, coming up with scenarios as quickly as she could. She peeked around, trying to spot anything useful from her position on the horse, but she could only see low hanging branches and shrubs. She didn't even see or hear other fey creeping around. So they were definitely alone...

She couldn't run. The throbbing in her ankle was starting to make itself known again and she had no doubts if she set weight on it she'd likely hurt herself even more than she already had. So...what did that leave her?

_Throw him off_, a tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered.

She frowned, her brow furrowing. Throw him off _how_? She could drop off the horse, but he was firmly in the saddle. He'd probably just let her drop and break a few ribs then haul her back onto the horse again. Or just kill her himself...

_Throw him off_, the voice repeated, more insistently this time.

An image came to mind, of her twisting them both out of the saddle, her arm trapping his against her, and squashing him underneath her as they hit the ground. He'd be winded. She could grab his sword...

_Yes_.

She moved slowly, so slowly even she couldn't really decide if she was moving or not, trying to get her hands into position without him noticing. She kept her breathing normal, and hoped he wasn't holding her tight enough to be able to feel her heartbeat accelerating. He shifted a bit, readjusting his grip to hold her more firmly, and she went still; waiting.

When he settled again, she decided she couldn't wait. Now. She had to do it now.

She sucked in a breath, gripped the horse with her knees, seized his arm, and twisted-hard.

She heard his startled oath, the horse seemed to tip, and then bucked just enough to unseat them both, and then they were careening to the ground as he lost his grip on the reigns.

She saw the ground rushing up at them, and closed her eyes tightly. Miraculously, her plan worked. They crashed into the ground, full force, with him underneath, and she heard him give a shout of pain as she drove her full weight into his chest and stomach. Then her ankle connected with the ground as they hit the forest floor, and stars exploded in front of her eyes.

She grit her teeth hard, tears springing to the corners of her eyes. She started to push herself up, and felt her breath catch when-instead of easily breaking free of his grip-his arm tightened, dragging her back.

Ignoring the stabbing pain in her ankle, adrenaline pumping, she twisted violently, trying to get loose, when a hand came down suddenly on her neck and pressed down hard on her windpipe with enough force to get her attention.

"Don't move," a tense, furious, and totally unfamiliar voice said in her ear.

"Or what?" she asked, even as she went totally still. "You going to kill me?"

"No," said the voice, sounding as though it was coming through clenched teeth, "But I think you might have broken my back and I'd really like for you to chill the fuck out while I figure out if I can move or not..."

Jester fell quiet at that, and heard the unfamiliar speaker give a muffled groan.

"Well," the person muttered, "Good news is you didn't handicap me."

"Awesome," she said.

"The bad news is that hurt like hell and I'm kinda pissed," they added.

"Oh...sorry," she mumbled, then mentally kicked herself.

"I'm starting to think you'd have been totally fine if I'd left you with those bastard princes," the voice muttered, and the hand on her neck unclenched.

The person sighed, and gingerly pushed her off of them. She rolled compliantly onto the ground, on her stomach, wincing again as her ankle twinges, and propped herself on her elbows as the stranger curled up in a ball on the ground; groaning.

"Fuck," they muttered, their pitch black head bowed.

Jester watched, entranced, as a spark of electricity arced from one spiked piece of hair to another, then another. With a thrill that was equal parts excited and scared, she said slowly, "Glitch?"

The stranger sighed heavily, still in the fetal position.

"That'd be me," they muttered.

Jester felt giddy. "Wait...why...?"

"Are you with me?" he guessed before she could finish. "I, stupidly, rescued your sorry ass. I totally should've taken the other girl. At least she was awake and would've known not to throw me off a horse..."

"Imagine?" Jester's pulse shot up again. "Where is she? Where are Rowan and Sage?"

"Can't I get two minutes to breathe?" Glitch asked, a little irritably. "I'm still making sure you didn't rupture anything..."

Jester bit her lip, but couldn't help the anxiety that spiked her adrenaline even higher than before. If she was here with Glitch, that meant Imagine was now _alone_with Sage and Rowan. Why? Why hadn't Glitch rescued both of them? He totally could have, right? He was an Iron fey. He had the upper hand. What the hell was he doing only rescuing her?

"Why isn't Imagine here?" she asked tightly.

"Because that wasn't part of the deal," he sighed, finally uncurling from his ball and levering himself into a sitting position.

He looked at her, his violet eyes still watering slightly, and frowned at the stricken expression on her face.

"What deal?" she demanded, pushing herself up further, and nearly toppling over when her ankle dragged over the rocky ground.

"Easy, human, before you get yourself even more beat up," he sighed, reaching over to grip her shoulder. "The deal was that I could take one of you or leave you both. Believe me, it wasn't my favorite choice, either, but that second-born bastard of Mab's was way too eager to kill you at the drop of a hat, and I was alone. I figured it'd easier to take you back to the castle, get reinforcements, and then intercept them before they get to the Unseelie Court. Or, if they end up making it there before we get to the Queen, getting a royal mandate to get your friend back. Plus, from what I understand, you've got other friends wandering around here."

When she nodded, he gave a weary sigh and dragged a hand across his face.

"I was afraid of that," he muttered, getting to his feet and reaching down to help her up, slipping an arm around her waist to keep the weight off of her injured foot. "We need to go find them, first. Humans alone in the wyldwood don't last long. And on the way you can explain how you all got to be here in the first place."

"Good luck," she said, frowning as he whistled to get his horse's attention. The animal hadn't gone far after they'd fallen off, but it didn't seem all that eager to let her on its back again, though it stood still as Glitch hoisted her into the saddle in front of him. "Even we don't know how we got here. That was the problem. We don't know how to get back, either."

"Any guesses?" he prompted as he swung himself into the saddle behind her and urged the horse around.

"None," she admitted. "And I don't even know where the hell we are, so chances of me being able to tell you where the others are isn't looking good right now."

"Well, if you two would slow down long enough to pay attention, you might get a clue," said a bored voice from behind them, and Glitch jerked the horse to a stop as Jester looked around for the source of the voice.

All she saw was the mess of leaves where they'd just fallen, and a rather large, round boulder. Then the boulder blinked, and she gave a start. A large gray cat unfurled itself from its crouched position on the forest floor, and sauntered towards them, bottlebrush tail swishing the ground.

"Grimalkin," said Glitch, sounding unsurprised, though he raised an eyebrow at the cat's approach. "What are you doing here?"

"Irrelevant," the Cait Sith sniffed, alighting on another, taller stump near them.

The horse inched sideways a little to keep an eye on the cat, who ignored it.

"Goodfellow should be here momentarily with the others," Grimalkin informed Glitch, who now raised both eyebrows nearly to his hairline and made a noise of clear incredulity.

"Goodfellow?" he asked, grimacing. "Why? How did he find them?"

"I sent him," Grim said blankly.

Glitch sighed and rolled his eyes. "Brilliant. A day late and a dollar short, don't you think? I could've used him when I was dealing with those two bastards earlier."

"No, you couldn't," said Grimalkin in a resigned voice, bending to wash his chest fur. "Those princes were going to take one of the humans regardless of who was there. Though, I will say, that human is either totally mad or senselessly brave, using Prince Sage's True Name as a bargaining chip."

"What?" Jester asked, wide eyed. "Who used Sage's True Name?"

"The other human," Glitch said when Grimalkin didn't answer. "She said she used his True Name, and if he let you go she wouldn't say anything."

Jester blanched, her mouth going dry.

"What?" Glitch asked, frowning; noting her change in her expression.

"Imagine doesn't know his True Name," Jester said shakily. "None of us do. That was a straight lie."

Glitch's eyes widened, and even Grimalkin perked an ear interestedly.

"So she knew enough to threaten with his True Name," said Grimalkin slowly, "But the chances are good that the Prince knows she is lying."

"Why'd he let me take this one then?" Glitch asked, frowning.

By 'this one' Jester guessed he meant her. "I've got a name you know," she said, a little coldly.

"I don't want to hear it," he said.

She glared.

"Chill," he sighed, realizing what he'd said. "I meant you're better off not telling your name."

"I have a nickname," she offered.

"I know," he said, rolling his eyes. "Backbreaker."

"Ha ha," she said tersely. "It's Jester, you goon."

"Jester," Glitch repeated slowly, looking almost pained saying it. "Tell me that's a joke."

"Only if you think it's funny," she replied, smirking.

"Getting back to the matter at hand," said Grimalkin, a hint of annoyance coloring his tone as he fixed them with a yellow glare, "If the Prince allowed you to take one human but not the other, the chances are good he only has use for the other human. He probably intended to let his brother kill this one"-he glanced at Jester-"but it was easier to let you take her to buy them time to get the other human to Mab while you ride with this one to Mag Tuiredh."

Glitch cursed sharply, and Jester felt her stomach drop.

So Sage had only let Glitch take her because it meant he and Rowan would have a better chance of getting to Tir Na Nog without being stopped again.

"But why not let her know he knew she was lying?" Glitch asked, his expression hard as he stared at Grimalkin.

"Why make the task harder on himself?" Grimalkin responded. "If the human believed she was saving her companion, she wouldn't put up a fight. If the Prince let her onto the fact he knew she'd lied, what reason would she have to cooperate with him?"

"That bastard," muttered Glitch, gripping his horse's reigns tightly in his hands.

That's what he should have expected from a strategist like Sage. He was annoyed with himself for not figuring it out sooner. He'd seen Sage's intellect at work on the battlefield when they'd fought Ferrum in the last war. The Prince was a genius of planning. He'd probably anticipated they'd be followed, and used the second human as a bargaining piece to get the other human away.

"What does he want with just one human, though?" he muttered thoughtfully, half to himself.

The thing was, Jester thought, Sage didn't have just one regular human. He had Imagine. Imagine, who wrote stories and imagines about the fey every day. If human glamour and imagination was fuel for the fey, Imagine was pretty much a portable battery. But did Sage know that, or had it just been easier to take Imagine and leave Jester because Imagine had apparently been awake at the time? Wouldn't it have been better to take Jester, who was unconscious, who couldn't put up a fight?

She didn't get it...

"Goodfellow is in pursuit of the Princes with the other humans," Grimalkin informed them then. "He's due north of here, about half a mile. If you leave now, you can catch him up."

"What's that going to do to help us?" Glitch asked. "I've got a lame human and he's got multiple humans. What are we going to do about them when we're trying to rescue the other one?"

"I'm not lame," said Jester indignantly.

Glitch gave her a long look. "How's your ankle?" he asked dully.

She glared at him.

"Thought so," he said. "So we've still got the problem of trying to protect multiple humans at once."

Grimalkin twitched his tail, and Jester thought for a split second that he looked close to laughing. Or as close to laughter as a cat can get.

"I understand you and Goodfellow don't exactly get along, Lieutenant," Grimalkin said with a distinct purr in his voice, "But it would be in your best interest to stop underestimating him soon."

And with a final twitch of his whiskers, Grimalkin vanished.

"I hate that damned cat," muttered Glitch, even as he wheeled his horse around and urged it forward at a quick trot.

"Where are we going?" Jester asked sharply.

"North," he said shortly. "If that damned Seelie ginger starts anything before we get there I'm going to put his head on a pike."


End file.
